Secret of Her Own
by Songbird of Night
Summary: After troops from the artillery arrive at the MacMorrow household, Kirstie not only discovers her brother's quickly growing secret, but also a secret of her own...
1. Introduction

Kirstie MacMorrow and half a dozen other teenagers walked out of the local soup kitchen with four oranges in each of their arms. They had received them in order of thanks for volunteering in the kitchen. It was half past three in the afternoon. The sun was hiding behind the sky of grey clouds that promised a shower of April rain sooner or later. Upon realizing this, Kirstie placed the oranges in the basket on the front of her bicycle before getting on it and starting home.

The busy street was filled with patrolling artillery troops and citizens bustling about and getting their shopping done before the rain started to come down. Kirstie peddled down the street smoothly, as to not bump the oranges around too much and bruise them up. She reached the road that forked away from the village of Fort Augusta and led to her large manor house on the shores of the Loch Ness.

The cows were grazing in the high, fenced field to her right. Kirstie stopped peddling and rolled along down the hill towards the house. She could just see her mother, Anne, and her ten year old brother, Angus, approaching the front fountain. She smiled and began peddling again, wanting to show Anne the contents of her basket. By the time she reached them, Angus was heading into the workshop and Anne was saying to Clyde, their old game keeper, "Can we move the cattle down to the lower field?"

"Oh, aye," Kirstie heard Clyde reply grumpily, "I have got nothing better to do."

"Mummy!" called Kirstie, stopping the bicycle with her feet. "Look what I've got!" Anne turned around at her voice. She was holding a wicker picnic basket in one hand, her purse in the other, and a sun hat on her head, which was useless, many thanks to the clouds above. Her mother's eyes widened when she saw the oranges.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked in a stunned voice as Kirstie took one out and handed it to her to examine.

"Every volunteer got four oranges today," explained Kirstie.

"I haven't had an orange in Lord knows how long," stated Anne.

"How was the shore?" asked Kirstie in a hopeful voice, "Did Angus have fun?"

"Angus? Fun?" replied Anne with a frown. Kirstie sighed and nodded.

Ever since their father had been called to serve as a sailor in the Royal Navy, Angus was not a fun-loving boy. He longed for his father to come home from the tour of duty, but, unfortunately, that would never happen now. Their father had gone missing almost a year ago when his ship was sunk at sea in the war. But Angus did not know this. Only Anne and Kirstie knew and they had yet to tell him. They believed that he was too young for such news.

Suddenly, a drop of cold rain fell upon Kirstie's hand. She gasped in surprise and Anne's eye took to the sky before calling out to Angus, "Angus! Come in now! You've got to help with the tea!" A moment later, he emerged from the workshop and the trio hurried into the house together as the rain began to come down harder.


	2. The Arrival

The bright, morning sun awoke Kirstie the next morning. She was surprised at the weather; it had stormed the previous night and the thunder and rain had sung her to sleep as it pattered against the window. She sighed as she rubbed the sand from her green eyes before sitting up and getting out of her bed. Her white nightgown fell to her ankles as she slipped her matching slippers onto her feet. Afterwards, she walked around the bed to her vanity and sat down on the little stool in front of its mirror. She picked up her brush and began detangling her short, brown hair that fell a little past her shoulders.

As soon as she set it back down and pulled her hair back with a tie, a low rumble came from outside. Kirstie furrowed her brow and listened closely as the sound became louder. She jumped up, pulled her plaid bathrobe on, and opened the bedroom door. Anne was hastening down the hallway, but stopped at the sight of Kirstie. She was dressed in her clothes, despite the early hour of the morning.

"What's that noise?" Kirstie asked her mother worriedly.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Anne replied, also sounding anxious. They spotted Angus's closed door, opened it, and rushed inside, as that was where the noise seemed to be coming from. Angus was dressed in his nightclothes and was kneeling in front of his open window, looking quite ecstatic. The girls joined him at his side.

"What is it?" repeated Kirstie to her smiling brother. She and her mother looked out and were shocked at the sight that met their eyes: Two artillery jeeps and six troop transport vehicles were parking right in front of their house. The troops in the large vehicles were dismounting and unloading equipment.

"Maybe Daddy's with them," was Angus's excited reply. Kirstie and Anne exchanged looks before heading back out of the room with Angus eagerly following behind. The trio descended the many flights of stairs and hurried down the hall.

"Do you know anything about this?" Anne asked Gracie, their maid and cook, as they passed.

"No," answered Gracie.

"They've got to be here for a reason," stated Angus sensibly.

"I don't know," said Kirstie. Anne opened the door and they all stepped outside. The troops were still unloading their equipment and getting situated. A small group of important looking men were talking together in a circle. One of them noticed the trio standing on the doorstep and brought them to the attention of another man whose back was to them. He turned around and smiled. Even from a distance, Kirstie could tell he had a nice smile.

"Ah…good morning, madam," said the man to Anne, putting his cap underneath his arm as he approached them "Captain Thomas Hamilton, 12th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery." He was tall and well-built with brown, neatly combed hair. His bright, blue eyes and strikingly, white smile complimented his handsome face.

"Are we all set?" Captain Hamilton asked. Anne stared at him with a dumbfounded look on her face, so he continued, "Um…the head housekeeper, Mrs. MacMorrow, is making all of the arrangements."

"She is?" said Anne, clearly taken aback.

"Yes. Is she around?"

"I'm Anne MacMorrow." She gestured to herself.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," Hamilton's smile vanished. "Clearly, HQ has failed to notify you. My troop is to be billeted here."

"What, with —," stuttered Anne, "I've hardly any staff. When Lord Killin went off to the RAF, only few of us stayed on here."

"Well, we won't expect afternoon tea," said Hamilton lightheartedly before continuing, "No, only the officers will be billeted inside the house. The rest of my men will camp outside."

"Well, I'm a — I'm afraid I really would need Lord Killin's permission."

"Of course," said Hamilton. He turned around and called a man forward, "Wormsley!"

"Yes sir," said the man as he handed Hamilton a sheet of paper. Hamilton returned and gave the slip to Anne.

"From Lord Killin," he said. "We're friends, actually, at Oxford the same year."

"All right," said Anne, looking up from the paper. "But I have to tell you, our cupboards are not exactly full these days."

"Not to worry. The War Office keeps us well-supplied. And what's more, we have a number of keen hunters in our regiment. They are trained killers, after all."

Minutes later, troops and officers came into the house and began setting things up. Captain Hamilton led the trio to the den, explaining things as they walked.

"You see, Scotland is the front line in the war these days."

"Sir," said a troop as he passed the Captain.

"Good man," replied Captain Hamilton before continuing, "Nazi submarines are everywhere." They reached the den. "Here we are…splendid, yes…well how lovely." He wrote something down on his clipboard after examining the room.

"Now," he continued, "all this, you see, is for your own protection. Goldman?" He handed his clipboard off to another troop. Meanwhile, Angus loomed up to a huge diagram.

"Well, we're, uh, very grateful," said Anne, watching Angus.

"Is this the German advance?" Angus asked curiously.

"Following the troop movements, are you?" said Hamilton, joining him. He ruffled his hair, saying with a reassuring smile, "Don't you worry, son. We're ready for 'em." Angus returned to Anne's side.

"Now you men, uh, come with me," said Hamilton. Kirstie looked to her right to find that the troop who Hamilton had given his clipboard to was watching her. He was wearing a brown, leather vest, unlike the other troops in the room. He was tall and slender and his face was quite handsome, complete with twinkling, chocolate brown eyes. His short, light brown hair was barely visible underneath his artillery cap.

Kirstie gave him a smile, and to her surprise, he returned it. Suddenly, she felt something spark in her heart…something she had never felt before…it was indescribable, as well as confusing… She looked away and felt her cheeks heat up.

"Kirstie," came Anne's disapproving voice, bringing her back into reality. She looked at her mother quickly. She had a stern look on her face to match her tone. Anne gently pushed Kirstie and Angus towards the door, saying, "Kirstie, Angus run along now. We don't want to distract our guests from their duties." Kirstie glanced once more at the boy before obeying her mother, who was now hastily gathering the figurines of horses from a table that two other troops were trying to move.

The children went up the stairs and down the halls. Kirstie could not stop thinking of the boy who had just smiled at her. She didn't even hear her brother ask, "Can you keep a secret?", as they turned into the hallway towards their rooms.

"Isn't this exciting?" Kirstie sighed contentedly, oblivious to Angus's question. "Soldiers right here in our home."

"Promise me you can keep a secret," said Angus seriously.

"What are you babbling about?" Kirstie rolled her eyes.

"You have to swear you won't tell Mummy," said Angus when they reached their rooms.

"I'll not breathe a word," said Kirstie as she stepped inside her bedroom. "What is it?" Before he could even reply, she shut the door in his face, hardly caring for what he had to say. She smiled to herself and sighed again as she sat down in the chair beside the door. She noticed her bed was now made, thanks to Gracie, but she still could not put the boy and the way he had smiled from her mind…It filled her up with such delight that she had never before experienced…

Questions were bouncing around in her head. What was it about him that caused her to feel this unusual way? Would she ever get to speak to him? Did he feel the same way towards her?


	3. Secrets

The next night, Kirstie still had not succeeded in putting the boy from her mind. In spite of having dressed nicely and styled her hair with barrettes, she had not seen him since the previous morning. This discouraged her, as she longed to speak with him. Throughout the entire day, she had been watching for the boy, but she never saw as much as a glimpse of him.

A new man by the name of Lewis Mowbray had arrived that morning to be their handyman. He had spent the entire day cleaning out the workshop so he could live in there. Angus was not too happy about that, as the workshop had belonged to his father and he had been looking after it while he was away. Mr. Mowbray was a mysterious man and didn't talk much. He had curly, dark brown hair, matching eyes, and a rather peaky complexion.

But it was now dusk and Kirstie had just finished her dinner. She was frowning disappointedly as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

"A nice bath might help take my mind off of things," Kirstie mumbled to herself. She opened her door, went inside, and closed it behind her. Afterwards, she stripped her clothes from her body and slipped her bathrobe on instead. She sat down at her vanity and took her barrettes out of her hair before pinning it up with bobby pins. All the while, she was thinking of the boy as she stared at her reflection in the little mirror in front of her.

_This has to stop!_ She told herself mentally. _How can I be so crazy over someone who hasn't even spoken to me?_ Maybe its destiny, her mind argued with her._ He's with the artillery and I know nothing about him, other than the fact that his last name is Goldman…_ Then you should find him and get to know him! _He's probably too busy with everything going on around here, anyways… _Try anyway! _But what would Mother think? Certainly, she wouldn't approve…_ You never know, maybe she would!

Once she finished with her hair, Kirstie got up, opened her door, walked down the hall, and took a right into the bathroom. She turned on the lights and filled the bathtub with warm water. When it was full, she turned the handle until the water stopped running from the spout and then went back into her room. Kirstie got a towel and a washcloth from her drawer and walked back into the bathroom, only to find something swimming and splashing around in the bathtub!

It was a grey monster of some sort about the size of a pig with the face of a horse, horns, and a tail! Kirstie shrieked in horror, dropped her towels on the floor, and ran out of the room as fast as she could. She reached the end of the hall, where she ran right into Angus, who started pushing her back into the bathroom.

"No! Stop!" shouted Angus.

"It's horrible!" Kirstie screamed back as her brother continued to force her back into the room.

"He won't hurt you!" cried Angus, "You have to believe me!" He succeeded in getting her back into the bathroom and shoved her towards the monster as he shut the door behind them.

"What is it?" shrieked Kirstie, fleeing from the bathtub and trying to force Angus from in front of the door.

"I don't know," Angus replied, pushing her away, "but it came from an egg! I tried to tell you!" Kirstie finally stopped screaming and breathlessly flattened herself against the wall. The monster yipped at her, but Angus smiled at the creature and approached it hurriedly, saying, "Jings, Crusoe! You're as big as a prize pig!" He knelt down and began to stroke its head. "How'd you grow so fast?" The cheer abruptly left his voice as he said, "I thought I lost you…", but quickly returned when he stated to Kirstie, "He's very friendly…aren't you, boy?"

"Angus, Mummy will have a fit!" gasped Kirstie gravely. They were not allowed pets, so if Anne found out about the creature, she would surely punish Angus.

"Don't you dare tell her!" demanded Angus, getting to his feet and staring Kirstie right in the eye. "Kirstie, please! He needs me…I'm his only friend…I saved his life…" She sighed once again and looked down at the creature. It had calmed down and was now just floating in front of Angus, who knelt back down in front of it. Kirstie slowly joined him at his side, still feeling very shaky inside.

"The poor, wee thing," she said softly. It looked at her and cooed quietly.

"You won't tell?" Angus asked her. Kirstie shook her head earnestly.

"Swear?" he continued.

"I don't swear, Angus MacMorrow," Kirstie reminded him, "I'll not speak a word." Angus threw his arms around her neck.

"You're a good sister after all," he said happily. Kirstie rolled her eyes at his remark, but patted his back as to not ruin the moment. Once they released one another, Kirstie looked back at the little creature and petted his smooth, wet head. It enjoyed the attention and gave her a toothy grin. She smiled back at it before turning to Angus.

"Well, I guess since I can't bathe tonight, I'm going to change," she said, gripping the sides of the tub.

"All right," said Angus. Kirstie rose and when she reached the door, she realized that she had not thought of the boy in two, full minutes. She opened the door, stepped outside, and shut it behind her.

She turned towards the hallway and gasped in surprise; the boy was standing there in front of her. He was wearing the same uniform and vest that he had worn the other morning. He looked just as surprised to see her there, as well.

"Forgive me if I startled you," said the boy politely with a smile.

"I-It's fine," stammered Kirstie, returning his smile. There was a short pause as they took a step towards each other.

"I was just looking around," said the boy, before stopping again, "I'm sorry, please forgive me…my name is Carson Goldman."

"Pleased to meet you, Carson," smiled Kirstie. "I'm Kirstie MacMorrow, Mrs. MacMorrow's daughter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. MacMorrow," nodded Carson. Kirstie was flattered by his wonderful manners and felt her cheeks burn again.

"It's just Kirstie," she said with a little laugh.

"Of course," smiled Carson. "I was just looking around…this is a very nice house."

"Thank you," said Kirstie. "But are you allowed to wander around like this?"

"Probably not," he chuckled. "I'm off duty, though, and came inside with Captain Hamilton. He's talking to Mrs. MacMorrow, so I just slipped away."

"Ah," said Kirstie. "What is your position in the artillery?"

"I look after things, like the equipment and such," replied Carson. "I also drive the jeep for Captain Hamilton. It's a small job, really… I'm one of the youngest men here."

"How old are you?" Kirstie asked him curiously.

"I just turned eighteen a little while ago," replied Carson. Relieve washed over Kirstie; she had been worrying about his age. Anne would certainly not approve of Kirstie conversing with a man in his twenties.

"I'm sixteen," said Kirstie. They stood there in silence for a few moments, searching for something else to discuss.

"You know, it's funny I should run into you now," stated Carson. "I came inside a few times today, but never saw you."

"I didn't see you, either," said Kirstie, biting down on her lip. "I figured you were busy outside, doing whatever you were doing."

"That's what I thought you were doing, as well," said Carson. They shared a quiet laugh before falling silent again. Carson seemed as though he couldn't take his eyes off of Kirstie. His smile hadn't come off of his face yet. Kirstie continued to bite her lip and looked down at her feet to realize for the first time that she wasn't wearing anything but her bathrobe!

"I'm sorry, am I keeping you from something?" Carson broke the silence.

"Well, um, not really," stammered Kirstie, her hand jumping to the nape of her neck in humiliation. "Although, I just realized that I'm not wearing anything but my bathrobe." They laughed again.

"I should change," she continued embarrassedly. The heat in her face was now almost painful.

"And I should be getting back to Captain Hamilton before he realizes that I've gone," said Carson. They attempted to step in front of each other, but ended up going the same direction and blocking each other from going anywhere.

"Sorry," they laughed again and went their separate ways.

"Alright, well…" said Kirstie awkwardly, now standing in front of her doorway.

"I hope I will be able to see you tomorrow," Carson smiled from the end of the hallway.

"You will," Kirstie nodded and smiled back.

"Good night, Kirstie," said Carson softly. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, too," replied Kirstie in an equally gentle tone. "Good night." And with that, Kirstie walked inside her bedroom and shut the door quietly. She leaned against it, closed her eyes, and sighed contentedly. She could not believe that she had just had her first conversation with Carson Goldman. _Carson Goldman_… she sang his name in her head. _Carson Goldman_… How could she ever forget such a name? Kirstie felt as though she were going to burst with happiness, despite her embarrassing appearance that he had caught her looking like…


	4. Uncovered

The very next morning, Kirstie and Angus were back in the bathroom, tending to Crusoe and keeping him contented and quiet. At one point, the creature started getting really rowdy and loud, so Kirstie tied his snout shut with a cloth bandage. Angus somewhat disagreed with this.

"Did you have to turn him into a mummy?" he complained as Crusoe splashed around frantically and tried to yank the bandage off with his flippers. Angus was kneeling down at the side of the tub while Kirstie leaned against the sink. The sun was shining directly through the window behind her and it felt very warm and comfortable on her back. She was wearing a floral blouse and a high Khaki skirt that was being held up with a brown belt. Her hair was pulled back into a nice ponytail.

"It was getting too loud," replied Kirstie reasonably, "Somebody would've heard." Despite her words, Angus slipped the bandage off of Crusoe's snout. He immediately started shrieking the second its mouth could open.

"Quiet, Crusoe!" exclaimed Angus, trying, but failing, to calm him down while Kirstie rolled her eyes at his attempt. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Kirstie gasped and felt her blood run cold.

"Who's there?" she asked hesitantly, looking worriedly at Angus, then Crusoe, and finally back at the door.

"I'm here to fix the bathroom," Mr. Lewis's voice came from the other side of the door.

"We're using it!" lied Angus.

"What? Both of you?" asked Mr. Lewis confusedly. Kirstie inhaled nervously, realizing that Mr. Lewis was going to find out about Crusoe, whether they liked it or not. "But I thought it was out of order…" In spite of Angus's fretful efforts to quiet Crusoe, the creature continued to splash around in the water and make odd noises.

"What's that noise?" asked Mr. Lewis inquiringly as he rattled the locked door knob. Kirstie frenetically motioned to Angus to say something else to cover up the truth.

"I have a cough!" he said, following the lie up with two coughs to make it sound realistic. Crusoe copied him and made two similar sounds as well.

"You've got an animal in there!" said Mr. Lewis. Kirstie put her hand to her mouth and could not think of anything else to say, so she started walking towards the door.

"Look, you—" said Mr. Lewis, knocking once again on the door. "You better let me in or your mother will hear about this!" Kirstie stopped and gave Angus a look that clearly stated that there was nothing else they could do.

"No!" said Angus softly, shaking his head vigorously.

"Let me in!" demanded Mr. Lewis. Despite Angus's protests, Kirstie walked up, unlocked the door, and opened it. Angus stood up in front of Crusoe and held his snout shut with his hand. Kirstie immediately joined him at his side as soon as Mr. Lewis came in.

"Listen, you two, alright?" he said firmly, shutting the door behind him after observing the room. "I have to do my job." He crossed the room to the toilet and placed his toolbox down next to it.

"Now, your mother told me that this bathroom has been out of order for three days—" Crusoe wriggled his way out of Angus's hand and swam over to the side of the tub, revealing himself to Mr. Lewis.

"Whoa!" Mr. Lewis jumped back in shock and pointed at Crusoe. "What is that?!" Angus immediately started petting the creature's head.

"It came from an egg at the tide pool," He explained hastily. "His name's Crusoe." Mr. Lewis stared at Crusoe in blank amazement while the creature smiled back at him.

"What in the name of…" Mr. Lewis uttered as he started stepping closer towards Crusoe to get a closer look.

"He's very friendly," said Angus as he and Kirstie both kneeled down at the bathtub's side and began gently stroking Crusoe. He cooed happily at all the attention, but when Mr. Lewis slowly held out his hand to pet him as well, Crusoe shrieked and frightfully rushed towards him. Mr. Lewis yelped and jumped back at once.

"Mary and Joseph!" he exclaimed in shock.

"He almost died when he was born," said Angus defensively.

"Almost took my hand off!" said Mr. Lewis gallingly.

"He thinks I'm his father," continued Angus, still petting Crusoe, who kindly cooed at Mr. Lewis.

"I wonder…" Mr. Lewis though aloud as he stared at Crusoe. "But it just can't be…"

"Can't be what?" Kirstie asked him curiously.

"Well, it looks like…" said Mr. Lewis thoughtfully, "…like a bloody water horse." Kirstie and Angus both furrowed their brows.

"A what?" asked Kirstie.

"They're make-believe," explained Mr. Lewis, "A legend from the Celtic past." Crusoe began twirling around in the water and cooing contentedly.

"They're said to be the rarest of all creatures," continued Mr. Lewis. "There can only be one water horse in the world at a time; when the one grows old, it lays a single egg and then it dies."

"Crusoe's a girl?" asked Angus in a rather stunned voice.

"No…" replied Lewis, watching Crusoe swim gracefully around in the tub. "No, lad, it's girl and boy both. At least, it's both mum and dad to the egg." He knelt down at the end of the bathtub.

"The old water horse dies when the egg hatches…so the new water horse is born an orphan."

"Oh, that's sad…" remarked Kirstie sorrowfully. Crusoe dunked his head under the water and blew some bubbles through his nose before surfacing and jumping up at Mr. Lewis. He winced but smiled at him.

"It's an amazing tale, isn't it?" he stated brightly. Just as Crusoe back flipped into the water, Anne's voice rang down the halls.

"Angus! Kirstie!" Everyone looked at the door in shock. If Anne found out about Crusoe, there's no telling what would happen.

"Don't tell her or she'll make us get rid of it!" said Angus gravely.

"Angus!" called Anne once again.

"Will you help us, Mr. Lewis?" Angus asked him desperately. Mr. Lewis frowned and sighed.

"You're asking me to deceive your mother…" he said contemptuously, but then he swiftly lifted Crusoe out of the water.

"Here…let's put him in the toilet for now…" Angus got up and opened the lid so Mr. Lewis could put him inside.

"Kirstie," he said hastily, "Go and stall Mum!" She nodded and hurried to the door upon hearing her mother's approaching footsteps.

"Angus! Kirstie!" Anne called sternly. Kirstie came out of the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She gave Anne an innocent looking smile.

"What are you doing in there?" asked Anne suspiciously. She was holding a white, folded towel in front of her.

"I was helping Mr. Lewis fix the pipes," answered Kirstie.

"And since when have pipes been an interest of yours?" asked Anne disbelievingly. She stepped forward to go into the bathroom, but Kirstie stopped her.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, holding her hands up in front of her. "It's a bad time to interrupt him!"

"What?" asked Anne confusedly.

"Plumbing is tricky!" lied Kirstie. "It's like surgery!" Anne rolled her eyes and attempted to go around her, but Kirstie continued, "One mistake could mean death!" Just then, Angus came out with a monkey wrench in his hand.

"Mr. Lewis found the problem!" he announced, showing the wrench to his mother. Anne frowned at her children before stepping in front of them and going into the bathroom. Both of them hastily followed her.

"I can explain!" started Angus in a panicky voice. "He—" The empty tub made a gargling noise as the last bit of water drained out of it. Mr. Lewis looked up at them from the floor, where he was working with the toilet.

"Always been handy with the plumbing," he stated, getting up.

"He's a genius!" smiled Angus. Anne still did not look pleased.

"And you helped, did you, Angus?" she asked him skeptically.

"Yes," replied Angus. "I—" he stopped when he noticing that Crusoe was lifting the toilet's lid. "I handed him the tools."

"And you, Kirstie?" asked Anne, looking over at her.

"No!" said Kirstie. "I came to get Angus to show him the civil assistant's manual!" Mr. Lewis made a swift move upon seeing Crusoe and sat down on the toilet's lid. Anne gave him an odd look, so he said, "Eh, well it's getting a little bit cramped in here, so off you go…did a grand job, Angus!"

"Bye!" said Kirstie quietly with a smile as they left the room. Angus immediately disappeared into his bedroom while Kirstie sighed in relief as she walked down the halls and descended the stairs. Her heart automatically skipped a beat when she passed Captain Hamilton.

"Good morning!" he gave her a perfect smile.

"Good morning!" she returned it absentmindedly. If Captain Hamilton was in the house, then that must mean that Carson was as well. She quickened her pace and reached the bottom of the stairs. As soon as she turned the corner, she collided into a well-built chest.

"Oh!" she and the person exclaimed. The person grasped her arms and held her steady in front of them. Kirstie instantly looked up into Carson's face.

"I'm so sorry!" they said together, sharing a small laugh. Carson let go of Kirstie as they smiled at each other.

"Good morning!" he said politely.

"Good morning!" gasped Kirstie breathlessly. "I saw Captain Hamilton upstairs and thought that maybe you…um…" She trailed off embarrassedly, realizing she had just told Carson that she had been eagerly looking for him.

"Yes, I was hoping I'd see you sometime today," smiled Carson. Kirstie returned it as she thought of something else to say.

"So how is your morning going so far?" she asked him.

"Better," answered Carson, "now that I've run into you…literally…" Kirstie felt her cheeks heat up as she giggled at his final statement.

"How's yours been?" he asked as they started walking down the hall together.

"Um…pretty much the same as you described it," Kirstie couldn't help but smile as she walked by his side, all the while nervously fidgeting with her fingers.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Carson cheerfully. "Captain Hamilton is planning a dinner for tomorrow night."

"Really?" said Kirstie. "How nice! I assume you will be attending?"

"No, actually," replied Carson. "It's only for him, the officers, and the lady of the house."

"Oh!" said Kirstie. "Then I'm not invited, either!"

"Not to the dinner, that is," said Carson bafflingly.

"What do you mean?" Kirstie asked him in a puzzled voice. They stopped and looked at each other right in the eye.

"I am going to be off duty during the dinner," said Carson, taking a step closer to her, "and if you're not doing anything, maybe we could spend some time together outside and get to know each other."

"I would love that!" gasped Kirstie excitedly.

"All right," Carson smiled widely. "I'll meet you outside after dusk when the dinner begins."

"That will be wonderful!" said Kirstie appreciatively. "I will see you then, if not before!"

"Alright," chuckled Carson with yet another smile. He stepped in front of her and began walking away. "Well, I'd better get back to work. I'll see you soon!"

"Bye!" Kirstie waved and bit her lip in exhilaration. Carson _wanted_ to spend time with her! Her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt warm all over as she leaned against the wall and sighed contentedly.


End file.
